Valduggery
by BenedictedCumberbabe221
Summary: Sorry about the boring title- inspiration hasn't struck. This story is exactly what it says on the tin- about how Valkyrie and Skulduggery realise they have feelings for each other and how they reveal them to each other. Hope you enjoy, reviews most welcome.


_'Valkyrie!' Skulduggery roars as his partner is thrown, with the guise of a rag doll, to the edge of the cliff. She collides with the ground; her face contorted with shock and confusion, and rolls helpless over the edge. 'VALKYRIE!' the skeleton detective bellows in fear, leaping to the edge where her clawed fingers peep over, holding on. She lolls over the sharpened rocks creeping up the cliffs base, the ocean as black as pitch seething within them, the waves slamming into the spikes with deadly force. As he slides to grab her hands, she loses her grip and releases, she lets out a defeated wail of terror, but Skulduggery grabs her wrists. Tears streak her cheeks as she hangs, she looks up to him, 'Help me,' she whimpers. _

_'Don't worry Valkyrie, I've got you. I'm going to pull you up,' he reassures. He tries, but he's lying on his stomach, he can't move. He can't pull her to safety; he's as much suspended as she is. His arms alone can't pull her up. Bloody hell, he thinks angrily to himself. Then, her weight starts to tug him forward. He's falling too. 'Skulduggery, we seem to be descending rather than ascending,' she states worriedly, glancing at the rocks waiting for her to fall into their arms. _

_'I can't pull you up,' Skulduggery says strained as her weight begins to hurt his arms. 'But don't worry, someone will come.' The skeleton detective proceeds to shout for Ghastly, but no one comes. He looks down at his partner. She looks back at him. He begins to slide again; he reacts unconsciously by releasing one of Valkyrie's hands to anchor him to the ground. She wails, as she becomes suspended by one arm. She looks up at him, and Skulduggery sees the realisation in her eyes; he knows too, he just refuses to believe it. 'Skulduggery, I'm pulling you over. We both know if you don't let go, we'll both die,' she says. He doesn't want to hear what she's saying. 'You've got to let me go.' _

_'No,' Skulduggery argues. 'No I won't. We'll be okay, we're always okay. Someone will come.' _

_'No one is coming Skulduggery! You have to let me go!' He is silent for a few moments, looking at her in desperation. He couldn't let her go. _

_'I won't. I can't.' _

**_A week earlier..._**

* * *

'You're so annoying!'

'You're incredibly, frustratingly frustrating.'

'If your decency was as big as your ego, you'd still be a gigantic twirp!'

'And if you weren't so bloody stubborn, we might get through trivial matters with more haste!'

_'My_ stubbornness?'

Ghastly and Tanith were sat gawping at the mini war erupting in front of them.

'This has been happening a lot lately,' Ghastly noted, his eyes zipping from Skulduggery and Valkyrie as each made their snide comment.

'Mm,' Tanith's eyes also followed the verbal abuse ping-ponging around the room. 'What was this one about again?'

'Umm,' Ghastly's face contorted with thought for a moment as he tried to recall the cause.

'Oh dear; it was about Skulduggery's proposition to take her and Fletcher to the ball next week.'

Tanith's face dropped in astonishment as she recollected the foundation of the squabble.

'Really?' Tanith asked. 'How could this abusive row stem from a proposed favour?'

'I really don't have a clue,' Ghastly sighed. A moment passed, the skeleton detective's and his partner's voices gradually rising. 'Do you think we should, you know...intervene? Before one of them 'proposes' to bite off the other's head?'

'Oh no, I'm having too much fun,' Tanith sat entertained by the argument. Ghastly thought otherwise and stood.

'Hey guys!' Ghastly articulated; the bickering resumed. 'GUYS!' Valkyrie's next jab was cut to a halt. 'What?' they snapped in unison.

'I think you need to calm down,' said slowly, so they would get the point.

'_I_ don't need to calm down!' Valkyrie disputed. _'He_ is the one that needs to calm down.'

_'Me_?'

'Shut up!' Ghastly ordered. 'Do you guys even know why you're arguing?' The pair glanced at each other sheepishly. 'So, Skulduggery. You asked whether you could give Fletcher and Valkyrie a lift to the ball next week,' Ghastly stated evenly. Valkyrie went to comment, but Ghastly held up a hand. 'Now, Valkyrie, _calmly_, what was your response?'

'I said, Fletcher can teleport us there, but he went on about how you need to arrive in style and then how Fletcher has no style whatsoever-'

'Okay!' Ghastly interrupted. 'So, Skulduggery; you need to understand if Valkyrie wishes to teleport, she can teleport-'

'And understand that Fletcher's got ten times more style than him,' Valkyrie added snippily, receiving a blank glance from Skulduggery; Ghastly noticed how his head tilted slightly, as if he was hurt by the quip.

'Valkyrie, you need to take favours better. And stop insulting your friend.' They were silent for a few fleeting moments.

'Truce?' Skulduggery produced a hand. Valkyrie's lips lifted into a smile, and she took the skeletal hand. 'Now let's go get ourselves some absolutely ravishing suits of indescribable style,' Skulduggery concluded as he strode out of the door of Ghastly's shop.

* * *

The group were prowling the streets of Dublin for outfits for the ball that was to be held in the Sanctuary the following week. There was apparently no reason, Erskine Ravel just decided that the magical community of Dublin needed a party. Totally, random. They would have normally requested Ghastly make them some fabulous attire, but at that moment Ghastly was a little booked up, and the wound on his hand wasn't especially helping.

Valkyrie and Tanith took themselves to a dress shop within the heart of Dublin; the shop was named 'Twinkies', but despite the odd name, it was quite possibly the best clothes shop in town.

Whilst, a few streets away, Skulduggery and Ghastly entered a shop flaunting crisp suits in their windows. As they entered, they tapped the symbols upon their collarbones, causing Ghastly's scars to seemingly disappear, as well as producing a face upon the bones of Skulduggery Pleasant.

Within the half-hour that the girls were in the shop, Valkyrie tried on at least twelve dresses, with Tanith's dress numbers probably doubling Valkyrie's. Skulduggery and Ghastly both tried one and had kept with that one. Men had good taste, especially these two, and had no need to doubt their initial choices. Two minutes in the suit shop, then the two men had convened in the cafe they'd planned to meet Tanith and Valkyrie.

In the dress shop, Tanith posed in a strapless navy dress which descended to mid-thigh. It was simple, but Tanith didn't need excessive garments to make her look good. Valkyrie had stuck to her black tones and wore a dress of similar shape to Tanith's, but at the waist was a thin belt, and her right shoulder was hidden beneath a sleeve. They studied each other and nodded.

'This is definitely the one,' they both announced. They changed and as they were paying, Tanith studied her friend and recalled the frequent arguments that had arisen between her and her partner recently. 'What's up with you and Bones then Val?'

'Hmm?' she hummed detachedly.

'Yes Val. We have noticed the arguments. You have one every day, more or less.'

'I don't know, everyone argues.'

'Maybe, but you two never used to,' Tanith said. They left the shop, the bell tinkling as the door swung closed. Valkyrie gazed into the starry night, shivering in the sudden rush of icy wind.

'I really don't know,' Valkyrie admitted. 'Every time we have different viewpoints or whatever, we just get on each other's nerves, I don't know.' Tanith didn't answer.

'Um,' Valkyrie veered from the subject. 'Where are we meeting them?'

'Uh, just down here I think.'

* * *

Sensitive conversations between men; they either never occur or are about as awkward as a comedian's joke gone sour. It didn't make it any easier being magical either; Ghastly pondered the start of such conversation over a steaming, sugary coffee. His friend sat in the opposing chair, his gloved hands steepled in front of his face, his head tilted in deep thought.

'Anything going on between you and Valkyrie?' He snapped out of his thought with a grunt, and Ghastly repeated the question.

'What do you mean?'

'Why are you arguing so much?'

'People argue all the time.'

'Not you and Valkyrie.'

'Oh, we always argue.'

'Not as much as you have been recently.'

'Contrariwise, we argue about the car replacement I get when the Bentley brakes down, who should do what in a plan, whether or not I should leave her out of some assignments once in a while to perhaps prolong her life, Fletcher. See; all sorts of pointless little things.'

Ghastly pinched the bridge of his nose - Skulduggery Pleasant never has and never will be an easy man to talk to.

'Can you not see the spike in your argument activity recently Skulduggery? You argue about the most trivial things, and by the end of it, you're just throwing insults.' Skulduggery's head dipped.

'Maybe we have been a little, heated, lately.'

'Why?'

'I hardly know her reasoning.'

'Is this about...Fletcher?' Ghastly shot in the dark. Skulduggery's sharp incline of his head proved his shot on target. 'What about him?'

'He's...he's got daft hair.' Ghastly gave an exasperated look. 'I don't think...I don't think he's good enough for her that's all; and she only likes him because she can go wherever she wants,' Skulduggery said grumpily.

'I'm sorry,' Ghastly smirked, withholding a small chuckle, 'Is the Great Skeleton detective...jealous?'

Skulduggery sat promptly upright.

'No, she's my partner, of course not. No,' he denied.

'Oh no; I was talking about Fletcher; are you jealous that he can teleport her everywhere and you can't,' Ghastly teased a little more, and as Skulduggery sank into his chair, Ghastly knew that if there were cheeks on those bones, they'd be blushing. Ghastly sipped at his coffee, glancing at the starry sky. 'Beautiful night,' he murmured.

'Have you asked Tanith yet?'

'Sorry?' Ghastly replied.

'Have you asked Tanith to the ball yet?' Skulduggery said simply, but his voice shared the mocking that Ghastly's had only moments ago. The tailor felt his cheeks flush, and he envied the skeleton at this moment in time. Skulduggery sat and stared awaiting the answer.

'No,' Ghastly said stiffly.

'Well you should soon; oh, here's the perfect opportunity,' he noted as Tanith and Valkyrie sauntered towards them.

'Can I get you ladies anything?' Ghastly offered.

* * *

_Obviously my story does generally not stick to the storyline, but includes a muddle of facts from all books.  
I really hope you like this new fanfiction, and please,please review. xxx  
~much love. _


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